Arming device



A. s. CLARKE ARMING DEVICE March 3, 1953 Filed NOV. 25, 194'? Filler-L 5 Clarke mwmsw+h Patented Mar. 3, 1953 ARMING DEVICE Allen S. Clarke,.Washingtn, D. C assignor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of War Application November 25, 1947, Serial No. 788,075 3 Claims. (01. ioz-"iai (Granted under Title 55, )U. S. Code (1952); 66

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalty thereon. V H

My invention relates to fines of the general ind referred to in my ctr-pending application Serial No. 788,074, filed November 25, 1947, and has for an object to present a novel construction of means for locking the generator rotor in anelectric fuze in such manner that itwill continue to operate efiectively only under actual flight conditions due to firing of a projectile equipped with the fuze, as in launchers or guns. v

It is a special purpose of this invention to present a construction which can be produced at low cost in a form to be operated by a mechanical arming device which may also include electrical arming means in accordance with my said other application. i

It is also a purpose of this invention to permit the incorporation of the specific latch or look for the generator by the use principally of the timing and arming train of my said co-pending application, or other. p v

Additional objects, advantages and featuresof invention reside in the construction, arrangement and combination of parts involved in the embodiment of the invention, as will appear or be understood from the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is an isometric perspective of the operating parts of my invention without framing or detonating means for the primer carried in the arming rotor, these being discretionary and adaptable from the disclosure of iiiy said 005 pending application, as well as by the use of other means known in the art. v

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the unlocked condition.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of the lower part of the fuze.

Referring specifically to the drawing, there is illustrated conventionally the rotor 25 of a generator mounted on aj shaft 26; which may be coaxial with a fuze assembly and shell, and may be includedin a framed and cased unitsubstantially of the form and size shown in my said co-pending application. A reduction gear train and arming rotor (shown) are also adapted to be mounted in the framing of said application,

and an arming rotor'here may be located sub= stantially as accommodated in the" said application.

.For these reasons the details of shell, fuze framing and casing are not illustrated in Fig. 1

2 and only in part in Fig. 3 since the support of the operative parts in their relative locations and cooperative relations involve moderate mechanical skill. Similarly the specific detonating circuits are not illustrated.

The shaft 28 is utilized as in the said other application with a lower Worm portion 36 to drive a gear train including counter-shaft 37, to drive large gear 38; which in this instance is mounted directly onthe arming rotor 40. The latter is revoluble on trunnions 39 the upper of whichis carried in a bearing on the plate 19. The arming rotor is accommodated in a chamber ii formed by a tubular wall 64 inserted within the mounting tube 42 carrying the capacitor 39, at its outer end. The wall is pinned at to the plate l9, andthe tube 22 has the ring 43 held by the iii-flanged lower end of the case It which encloses the entire generator and arming unit. The lower trunnion of the arming rotor is set in the interrupter plate 46, pinned at 41 to the wall 44, and the interrupter has the usual flash port 48 theretlirough; while the rotor 49 has the detonator hole 58 therethrough located initially opposite'tlie port 48 as indicated in Fig. 3. A detonator 5Q conventionally fixed in the hole 58. 'Ihe booster5fl is mounted below the interrupter plate, its case 5| being engaged in the ring 43 by'scrw threads, by which the booster case is caused t o pr'ess the interrupter and wall 4:: against the plate :9, v 7

For the purpose of illustration; framing plate I'Sis located high enough in the framing to afford a space thereunder above the flange oi the capacitor tube i2, which forms part of the chamber within the Wall 44, and outwardly of the latter accommodates a small gear 31', mounted on the lower end of the shaft 3'! which is extended through a' suitable bearing in the plate iii. The gear 31 is meshed with an interrupted gear 38 fixed or formed c'oncentricaily on the upper periphery of the arming rotor, the latter being suitably rabbetted at 38 where the gear is interrupted, the interruption being so located that in the driving of the rotor ma the gear 31, the latter will enter the interruption as the hole 58' becomes alined with the port Q8; which is the armed position of the rotor, the brushes 5| or other forms as determined on at this time closing the circuit from the detonator squib to the terminal studs 82 by which the detonation circuit from a proximity" or other timed circuit closing device may be" completed, and permitting such other circuits to be complete as may be provided for.

The reduction gear train includes a worm gear 9, driven by the worm 35, and a second worm it extended axially from the gear 9 driving an upper gear I i on the shaft 31 by which the latter is operated. The worm it is extended a distance past the gear H and has fixed thereon a planiform sector l2 which, as shown, includes an angle of approximately 270 degrees, although a smaller portion thereof may be of utility in the functioning of the device, as will appear. This leaves a gap 13, the use of which will be explained.

Pivoted on the framing there is a generator lock lever ll} swingable in a vertical plane radial to the shaft 26. This lever is formed of a broad planiform plate normally extending approximately horizontally from its pivot toward the shaft 26 and being notched at H on its end so as to receive the shaft therein. It is held yieldingly in its horizontal position by a contractile spring 52 conveniently anchored thereabove. Set permanently through the shaft 26 there is a cross pin it, the ends of which rest upon the fingers i l at the end of the lever and stop the upward movement of the lever. The extremities of the fingers "it, formed by the notching of the lever, are turned upward sharply, forming stop flanges l extending vertically close beside the pin it, so that while the lever is held at this upper limit of its movement the shaft 25 is the lock lever, and at such level as to engage over and hold the lock lever H3 at a lowered position with the flanges l5 clear of the pin 13, if the lever 16 is free to respond to the urging of the spring 11. The keeper leveris normally detained and held from this engagingmovement by a rigid arm 19 formed integrally thereon, extended at right angles to the plane-of movement of the keeper lever and toward and resting against the side of the sector 12. The arm 79 laps the sector less than the depth of the gap 53, however, so that when the worm It turns through the predetermined angle of its movement determined by the initial setting of the gearing, the arm 19 will be freed of obstruction by he sector i2 by passing through the gap l3, and the lever iii will respond to the spring ll, moving into engagement with the lever ill with the lug l8 interposed in the direction which the lock lever tends to move under urging of its spring 72.

With the construction described, the generator rotor is at all normal times held from rotation by the action of the spring 12 lifting the lever 70 so that one flange 75 engages the cross pin 53.

On firing of a, projectile equipped with the fuze (the upper part of Figure 1 being the forward part), inertia of the lever it causes it to swing rearwardly against the action of the spring 72, clearing the pin l3. This permits the rotor to be driven by the wind vane with which the fuze is equipped (not shown), which may conform to well known practices in such devices. After a predetermined distance in flight, operation of the worm lfl-brings the gap i3 into alignment with the'arm l0, permitting the latter to pass through the sector l2, the keeper lever thereby engaging and holding the lock lever in disengaged position permanently. Therefore, when deceleration of the projectile begins the lock lever cannot return to engagement with the pin 13.

Operation of the generator begins with release of the pin 13 and potential'is supplied to the electrical controls, condensers, and the like, according as these may be constructed and connected. However, communication of detonating current to the detonator or completion ofthe explosive train to the primer or squib is not possible at once, because of the displaced position of the arming rotor with respect to the port 48. Movement of the arming rotor is begun, however, coincident with turning of the generator rotor and before the keeper lever it has operated. After the desired extent of flight by which sufiicient rotation of the shaft 26 has been produced to move the arming rotor to armed position, the interruption in the gear 38 will have come into registry with the gear 31, so that driving of the arming rotor ceases. Thereafter, the action of the fuze is dependent on the function of such control devices as may be used in association with the generator output, not shown.

The invention has been disclosed in a form suited to operation in fuzes of the kind referred to, but it will be understood that this disclosure is purely exemplary, the form of the parts being subject to changes to fit them to approved current practices of the time of production, and the particular forms of framing and housing and circuit arrangement and closing are purely formal and not limiting.

.It will be noted that if the fuze or projectile equipped therewith is dropped in such manner as to cause the lock lever to move away from the pin '53 when the dropped article strikes a floor or other object, there will not occur sufficient movement of the generator rotor to operate the sector !2 sufiioiently to clear the arm l9, and the lock lever will be free to return to locking relation with the shaft 26 and pin '53. If the latter should have turned to a position angularly different from that illustrated in Fig. i, one end of the pin will strike on the fiat portion of the lever inwardly of the flanges E5, and it will be permitted no more than 178 degrees rotation thereafter before the pin F3 again engages the flanges 15.

I claim:

1. In a generator powered fuze having a generator rotor arranged to turn on a fore-and-aft axis of a projectile equipped therewith, a radial projection fixed with the rotor, a locking device rearwardly of the path of the radial projection, said locking device comprising a plate pivotedat one end transversely of said axis and having its opposite end formed with two parallel arms which are normally in releasable engagement with said projection, said arms movable generally in an arc longitudinally of said axis from lock position, to unlock position, a spring urging the locking device toward a locking position in said path, said spring being yieldable to the forces of inertia of the locking device under set-back on firing, a keeper movable into and spring urged toward position to hold said locking device out of said path and a delay device operatively connected with the rotor and said keeper constructed to normally hold the keeper free of the looking device, and movable to free the keeper at a given stage of movement of the delay device.

2. In a projectile and generator powered fuze having a generator rotor rotatable on a fore-andaft axis of the projectile, a rotating shaft connected with the rotor having a radial projection fixed thereon, a lock lever pivoted laterally of the shaft swingable to rest against the projection from the rear and having a stop thereon to engage in the path of the projection and hold the same from rotation and being movable to a rear unlock position free of the projection, a keeper lever pivoted to swing into holding position in the path of the lock lever when the latter is at said unlock position, a movable stop member normally in the path of the keeper from said normal position to said holding position, and operative connections between the stop member and shaft to move the"'sa1n'e from said path of the keeper lever.

3. In a generator powered fuse having a generator rotor arranged to turn on a fore-and-aft axis of a projectile equipped therewith, a radial projection fixed with the rotor, a locking device rearwardly of the path of the projection, said locking device comprising a plate pivoted at one end transversely of said axis and having its opposite end formed with two parallel arms which are normally in releasable engagement with said projection, said arms movable generally in an arc longitudinally of said axis from lock position to unlock position, a spring urging the locking device toward a locking position in said path, said spring being yieldable to the forces of inertia of the looking device under setback on firing, a keeper movable into and spring urged toward position to hold said locking device out of said path, a delay device operatively connected with the rotor and keeper constructed to normally hold the keeper free of the locking device and movable to free the keeper at a given stage of movement of the delay device, said delay device including a counter shaft spaced from and parallel to said axis, an arming rotor having an interrupted gear thereon, a gear on the counter shaft meshed therewith, an interrupter plate having a port formed therein under said arming rotor, a detonator carried by the arming rotor exposed to the plate and movable with the arming rotor to align with the port, the interruption of the gear being angularly disposed with relation to said detonator to align with said gear on the counter shaft when the detonator is aligned with the port.

ALLEN S. CLARKE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,665,899 Varaud Apr. 10, 1928 2,388,691 Horan Nov. 13, 1945 2,421,266 Honger May 27, 1947 OTHER REFERENCES Radio Proximity Fuze Design, Hinman and Brunetti, National Bureau of Standards, RP 1723, vol. 37, July 1946. 

